All of which leads to questions that can't be answered in the space of 10 games. How much, in fact, have they improved? Are they really overachieving or is this a team that can sustain its early pace and win somewhere around 45 games in a 66-game season? Is this a team capable, as former coach Jim Lynam insists, of winning the Eastern Division just two seasons since finishing 28 games under .500?
If the last of those questions is eventually answered with a "yes," then the turnaround will be more than remarkable, and not one that could have been predicted even after coach Doug Collins got them moving in the right direction last season. Without a true star on the roster, the Sixers have to rely on energy and collective talent. That's a dicey formula in the NBA, but so far the needle is still pointing up.
"This franchise, for 10 years it was star-driven with Allen Iverson," Collins said. "People came in to watch this little guy play incredible basketball. Now, we're trying to develop stars. That's who we are."
The problem is that stars, real stars, aren't developed in the NBA. They come into the league more than halfway there already. If you look at the Sixers roster, with the possible exception of rookie center Nikola Vucevic, there isn't a single player whose future place in the firmament isn't already pretty predictable. Vucevic has great footwork for a big man and he has the potential to become something special, and it's about time the Sixers got lucky in that regard.
As for the rest, there are some really nice players, including some young ones who will improve. But there isn't anyone on the roster who makes an opposing coach say, "Oh, God. We have to play Jrue Holiday tonight," or, "How am I ever going to stop Thaddeus Young tonight?"
